Two masters of epic fantasy have combined in this brilliant collaboration to create a rousing tale. This is the story of Shana, a half-breed born of the forbidden union of an Elvenlord father with a human mother. Her exiled mother dead, Shana was rescued and raised by dragons, a proud, ancient race who existed unbeknownst to elven or human kind. From birth, Shana was the embodiment of the Prophecy that the all-powerful Elvenlords feared. Her destiny is the enthralling adventure of a lifetime.

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Publisher's Summary

Two masters of epic fantasy have combined in this brilliant collaboration to create a rousing tale. This is the story of Shana, a half-breed born of the forbidden union of an Elvenlord father with a human mother. Her exiled mother dead, Shana was rescued and raised by dragons, a proud, ancient race who existed unbeknownst to elven or human kind. From birth, Shana was the embodiment of the Prophecy that the all-powerful Elvenlords feared. Her destiny is the enthralling adventure of a lifetime.

Where does The Elvenbane rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

On a scale of 1-5, I would rate it a 4 (5 being high, 1 being low).

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed the adventure and the thrill of discovering the history of the main character as well as the origins of the dragons. Looking forward to hearing the next book in the series.

What about Aasne Vigesaa’s performance did you like?

The performer did a great job characterizing the characters, though one of the voices seemed exceedingly childish as the story progressed. This may be just how the character was originally written, though I would have to read the physical book to know for sure.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I had a few moments when I chuckled out loud, but it didn't make me cry.

Any additional comments?

A fun listen, great for wandering around the house while doing chores. The progression keeps a nice pace and the performer does a good job withouth being too grating on the nerves.

I just wanted to warn anyone who can't handle a series which is unfinished, and may never be finished. The book is great, and the Audible version excellent as well. Sadly the death of Andre Norton put the end of this series somewhere (hopefully) in the future. Mercedes Lackey is a wonderful fantasy author, and I've read and thoroughly everything she's put her hand to (that I could get my hands on). This is a great story for fantasy book lovers. It has all you want, magic, creatures, love, iintrigue, imagination galore, etc. I just hope we find out what actually happens to the characters in this story who are left without any resolution. My imagination isn't good enough - I need the professionals! If Audible has any power encouraging authors, please do so. The entire Valdemar series should be in a quality Audible format. The Colegium Chronicles isn't the best way to start listening to her Valdemar books. (and Arrows of the Queen is 1/3 of a story).

The start of this book in a harem had me going back to look at the equivalent of the book flyleaf. I wasn't at all sure I had gotten the book I had selected. But after I got over the shock, I found it to be very entertaining. And as I got further into the story, it went well beyond the sort I book I was expecting. It was a complete change in a major way from how Elves and Dragons are usually portrayed in stories. This difference brought real excitement to the story instead of just another retelling of the standard fare of a story with small chances where you basically knew the plot. It rips the glow and halo of the elves and gives a giant leap in the character of the dragons changing them to something so much more interesting that beast.

What did you like best about this story?

The fact that it told that not everything turns out right in the end. That some will suffer and die even if they don't deserve it but it is worth trying no matter what. And that one person can make a big difference and change the course of events. Though the person that accomplishes this doesn't always end up being perfect or even being rewarded.

Any additional comments?

I'm not a prude but I was surprised by how the book started out. I was expecting a book about elves and dragons along the normal lines of the standard stories. Starting out with a selfish conniving human in a harem for a powerful elf ruler wasn't what I was expecting from a book about elves and dragons. The way the dragons would interact secretly in the lives of the elves and humans was much more interesting than the way stories usually portray them. This book made the other stories seem like the had been Disney-fide to their most simplest flat form while this instead still held all the vim and vigor of life even the ugly sides. People/elves/Dragons where portrayed to have real faults, jealousy, power hunger and even cruelty. While still showing that strength of character and good could also present in the same. Instead of making their character one dimensional by always being bad or good.

I love both Norton and Lackey and their combined efforts take you to a land of fantesy and magic. Of course there is good and evil. A relationship between a half blood and a dragon, a relationship between a pure blood and a half blood and of course the evil pure blood. The story helped me escape my day to day stresses. These was the mystery of the unknow dragons and the wizards. A great story. I highly recommend it.

I've been a science fiction reader for as long as I can remember, and I loved hearing about the private lives of two very different worlds - shamanistic dragons and royal courtesans. It melded a story between the two. I plan to buy the sequel and continue on with the brilliant world created by the author. However this story was more than a simple introduction. It was a complete epic masterpiece that could stand on it's own. Although I am quite pleased to find out that there is even more to come!

Yes. I love this type of book. Mythical Creatures, Magic Powers, and only subtle romantic innuendo.

What other book might you compare The Elvenbane to and why?

The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings. All the "Mythical Creatures & beings". A great adventure.

What does Aasne Vigesaa bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrator makes this such a joy. You don't even have to guess which character she is being after the 1st or 2nd time she becomes them. She is extremely versatile with her voice. Also, the story flowed without hesitation. Much like the story tellers of old (before most people could read).

Welcome to a world of magic where the humans are slaves. The elves control everything within their domain. The half-breeds are feared by the elves (for good reason) and the dragons are in hiding. This is a world where unicorns exist although they're called one-horns and are one of the most dangerous animals of all. It's a challenging world where the different aspects of 'humanity' are understandable and heartbreaking. The heroine is a wonderful character I loved to cheer for.

I doubt I will listen to this narrator again. She was over the top, near hysterical at time, and boring at others. Even when Shara is a young adult, her voice still sounds like a small child. The narration doesn't help the story. It is apparent there were two authors, and it is easy to tell where one stops and the other starts. Parts of the book are very adult, dealing with concubines, oppression and violence. On the other hand, the parts about Shara seem written for the middle grade reader. I never felt the two stories merged into one. Especially during Shara'a scenes. She remembers and thinks about things but they have already happened. We don't get to experience them with her. The book did not hold my interest.

I was really looking forward to this book, but it was pretty disappointing. Starts out depressing, picks up, takes a downward turn and continues this trend throughout the first half of the book. Each time the main character finds success, it's soon followed with catastrophy. I suppose by the end of the book she's a hero, but really, how many times should a character meet with such adversity. I quit listening about half way through.

Does the author present information in a way that is interesting and insightful, and if so, how does he achieve this?

It's interesting in that you keep thinking the main character's life is going to get better, but I didn't see that happening.

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